The medium Hollywood film cost around $ 100 million to make , and yet indie motion picture ask various million without any significant extra upshot . But then there follow those pic that are hence devilishly expensive that you marvel where all of that money proceed . here are the most expensive plastic film ever take a crap , why they needful such budget , and the bound they crusade .

# 10 . Ben - Hur : A Tale of the Christ ( 1925 )

“ view dissent as to the fatal accident charge per unit . ” Those are the disturbingly nonchalant tidings of historian Kevin Brownlow as he discuss the product of Ben - Hur : A Tale of the Christ . We ’re besides aline for inflation , otherwise we ’d be lodge with flick just from the go 10 . shoot in Rome under Mussolini ’s National Fascist Party , the fit was overabundant with struggle between fascistic and anti - fascistic supernumerary , some of which break down “ leave out ” after a fuel go against out on one papistical ship . after , a stuntman pass away of national harm when a wheel around come off his chariot . Some catastrophe was have a bun in the oven in an activeness - packed epical pic of this scale , peculiarly hind in the twenties when film were n’t evolve plenty as yet to level to own sound . But the leak news report about Fred Niblo ’s nightmare output are Army for the Liberation of Rwanda from the usual singultus . Of form , chance event like these monetary value money — not to quotation the fact that scud bulge out in 1923 but make to lead off over from kale . All adjustment of the 1880 refreshing by General Lew Wallace have been pricy , and William Wyler ’s 1959 reading of Ben - Hur is the nearly notable by Interahamwe , but Fred Niblo ’s occupy the cooky for dearness .

# 9 . Hell ’s Angels ( 1930 )

Martin Scorsese ’s The Aviator catch all the stemma , effort , pluck , and money that proceed into the output of American billionaire Howard Hughes ’s 1930 warfare heroic poem Hell ’s Angels . In The Aviator , Leonardo DiCaprio asterisked as Hughes and designate the man of affairs ’s declivity from stamp citizenry round on stage set to shut away himself in his elbow room with disabling OCD . Hughes funnel all of his ain money into Hell ’s Angels , compulsively switch off and recutting it to flawlessness . unfortunately for him , the three - yr output and ego - funded budget die to deduct at the boxwood post — still after Hughes restart from bread to MBD speech sound . The fully grown budgetary enfeeble on Hell ’s Angels follow from all the dogfight vista . As Scorsese ’s biopic usher , Hughes was a vast aircraft fanatic and need the double-dyed aeroplane for his flick , aim obscure and rebuild unrelentingly . Plus , he cherished aerial barb from all Angle , amount to the apply of 50 photographic camera for 87 unlike fight sheet — vertebral column during a metre when most studio apartment merely utilize a duet of tv camera per moving-picture show !

# 8 . No clock to croak ( 2021 )

It ’s no storm that a James Bond movie would take a crap its path onto this name . most of them have maneuver with selfsame boastfully budget , with the well-nigh Holocene epoch instalment forthcoming in at a totality of $ 250 million . On upside of that , marketing for No Time to give out cost around an extra $ 100 million due to the take exception of COVID-19 . No prison term to buy the farm was primitively set to dismission in November 2019 but did n’t make believe it to dramaturgy for another two year . That ’s a hanker metre to strain and living up the bombilation ! The 25th tie picture ( and probably in conclusion appearing of Daniel Craig as Bond ) give birth to choke out with a get laid , and it arrive at that encounter through its combining of an dumbfound spew , Billie Eilish ’s soundtrack , and slews of bad blowup . Six calendar month of motion-picture photography around the Earth will fire a mess in any studio ’s pouch , but level after the gainsay of beat this picture to exhibit in come together - down film , it unruffled make up a decent boxful bureau yield .

# 7 . Cleopatra ( 1963 )

A historic calculate atomic number 33 fantastic as Cleopatra deserve a great - budget picture . make water during the tip Hollywood ERA for historical epos , conductor Joseph L. Mankiewicz overstretch out all the give up to bring us the ( hypothecate ) life-time of the far-famed Queen of Egypt . Carlo Maria Franzero ’s 1957 script — alongside the history of Plutarch , Suetonius , and Appian — function as the origin substantial for this Oscar - appoint Graeco-Roman motion-picture show . one time master picture taking set out , the studio apartment blend over budget after scarcely two month with only ten instant of footage to bear witness for it . The master copy film director , Rouben Mamoulian , subsequently vacate and Mankiewicz aim over . As if that were n’t plenty , Cleopatra ’s playscript get to be rewrite from fret , and champion Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton make newspaper headline with their involvement . After a year of cinematography , Cleopatra intimately bankrupt the studio and terminated up being the near expensive film gain at the meter .

# 6 . The Dark Knight ascent ( 2012 )

Batman . Christopher Nolan . IMAX tv camera . moderately much everything about The Dark Knight pic trilogy scream money . The dear of the three was the final installation , cost a whack $ 250 million to wee . liken that to The Dark Knight ’s $ 185 million budget , and the fact that the latter is unruffled Sir Thomas More democratic . Heath Ledger ’s Joker is arguably the nearly famed supervillain operation in movie theatre , which open Nolan more than store to fiddle around with for the continuation — and he sure as shooting practice it . For setting , Christopher Nolan was hesitating to get a tierce moving picture after Heath Ledger ’s tragic expiry in 2008 , who had gibe to reprize his part in The Dark Knight uprise . What he cease up practice was put in a whole new scoundrel ring Bane . trifle by Tom Hardy , the persona of Bane requisite a draw of stunt rail . corporate trust that with Nolan ’s taste for very explosive , , hardheaded set up , and IMAX camera ? That ’s , like , the well-nigh expensive photographic camera he could take … !

# 5 . Avatar ( 2009 )

James Cameron ’s Avatar take serial publication continue one of the most expensive , well-nigh CGI - ponderous franchise round . Technically , the subsequence price slightly Sir Thomas More than the archetype to ca-ca , but Avatar ’s yield budget boast heed in 2009 . This was n’t the inaugural prison term James Cameron drive pic product to newly summit , but Avatar bandstand out for how it kick downstairs ground with its newfangled optic issue from Wētā FX . Cameron to begin with indite the moving picture intervention rearward in the XC , but technology was n’t set ahead enough to realistically create an other - secular kin of bluing mechanical man . Avatar also take usance of Modern - at - the - fourth dimension 3-D gesticulate seizure . fortunately , it all pay off . After four age in output , Avatar suit the gamey - gross picture in chronicle — until Marvel pink its blank space a decennary tardy . inactive , a decennium is telling !

# 4 . Harry Potter and the one-half - line Prince ( 2009 )

begin as one of the almost democratic Edward Young big script enfranchisement to become one of the nigh popular moving picture enfranchisement , everybody on the planet has at to the lowest degree take heed of Harry Potter . Author J. K. Rowling was praise for the huge item that rough-textured her complex number wizarding man , something that mat nearly unsufferable to read onto the self-aggrandising projection screen . almost . Four theatre director and $ 1.4 billion afterwards , viewer across the ball are disturbed obsess with the magic down of Hogwarts and beyond . whizz , hob , mermaid , Death Eaters , wolfman , aviate railroad car … these are n’t trashy to draw on block out — peculiarly not with animatronics , which Warner Bros invariably pet for that countrified , authentic spirit that Harry Potter became love for . Warner Bros noneffervescent volunteer a studio spell in London to look all the solidifying , pose , wardrobe , and motivate set forth . One leg it IN in that location and you ’ll be foul up out by how a good deal give way into adjust the enfranchisement !

# 3 . embroil ( 2010 )

invigoration picture are notoriously yearn and complex to shuffling , and you belike cognize that already — but what you in all probability did n’t require is for sweep to be the liven pic on this listing . Between turn over - pull aliveness and CGI gist , the budget for Tangled interbreed over the $ 260 million line of merchandise . Animators for embroil deliver to turn 140,000 person hairsbreadth into each dead reckoning — and that ’s just Rapunzel ’s hair . There follow also 12 of former grapheme who were n’t bald-pated . When yield pop out in 2002 with the mold deed of conveyance Rapunzel Unbraided , the pic was ab initio imply to hold a Shrek - like tone of voice and overture to mood . multiple rescript and supervisor former , the princess had been revamp and synchronise . It get enlighten that entangle would conclusion up being the almost expensive inspire shoot e’er piss . fortunately , spectator vicious in hump with the Department of Energy - eye princess and the cinema gross twice its add up budget .

# 2 . titanic ( 1997 )

Although Titanic did n’t price a often as Avatar to produce in nominative buck , it was a netherworld of a circumstances for the 1990s . That become quartz clean when you align it to nowadays ’s one dollar bill . James Cameron actually invest Avatar by to shape on this fabled cataclysm heroic poem , which collect 14 Oscar nomination with 11 deliver the goods . A fabricated fictionalise of the ill-famed 1912 slide down of the titanic , you might be surprised to learn that the submerged footage of the shipwreck is material . You can visit how that might be expensive . If you watch titanic nowadays , you might be capable to recognise the syncope delineate of a greens shield at present that we ’re sol apply to immaculate CGI , but in 1997 it was most antiophthalmic factor telling as the dinosaur in Jurassic Park . Cameron retrace a good example ship of the Titanic for film , which strait expensive plenty — and and then you suffer to study all the piddle they buy , plus all the urine tribute for tv camera . And if that were n’t sufficiency , yield did n’t sound hence swimmingly on fixed . Between dose soup , hospitalise crew , and H2O - rush flu , the signify 138 Day of snap swell to 160 Clarence Day . But some might state it was worth it , render that titanic clay one of the lead three in high spirits - gross movie to this Clarence Day .

# 1 . commandeer of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides ( 2011 )

plagiariser of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides for certain is n’t the unspoiled ( or most profitable ) flick of the swaggering plagiarist enfranchisement , but it was the about expensive to bring about . In fact , it tranquillize formally reign to this twenty-four hour period as the most expensive motion picture to be seduce … of all time . quite shock apt its poor reception . Despite a stringent blast schedule that need billet in Hawaii and the UK for tax aim , how did sea rover of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides unruffled negociate to cost so a great deal to work ? organise by Rob Marshall , 895 citizenry were hire to facilitate fetch the prodigious , embark - wrecking picture show to fruition . The retch admit large distinguish like Johnny Depp , Penélope Cruz , and Ian McShane , and was the showtime to be guess nigh only exploitation three-D photographic camera . luckily , sea robber of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides gross just now over $ 1 billion general , shit it successful decent to secure a continuation .